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Abstract : The Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) Project Phase-I will provide motorists a smooth and faster travel
from Metro Manila to Cabanatuan. CLLEX will also improve access between the two (2) north large cities, Tarlac and Caba-
natuan, and will support industrialization of the northern part of Mega Manila.
Authors described soft ground treatment and ground liquefaction due to earthquake. The project site is located in flat terrain
(mainly rice field) There are few section having a ground liquefiable sand layer. For ground liquefaction countermeasure, sand
compaction pile is proposed and designed under structures. This technical paper introduces the designed countermeasures
against possible soil liquefaction.
Key words : Highway, Embankment, Seismic design, Ground Lique faction, FL method, Ground Liquefaction countermeas-
ure
1 INTRODUCTION There are two (2) major technical issues for CLLEX Phase-I.
In to Central Luzon, the Pan-Philippine Highway caters The first issue is to minimize the effects on flooding. The 15
many traffic as one of the major north-south directional km length of the expressway section passes through a flood
trunk national road linking between Metro Manila and Cen- prone area of Rio Chico River Basin where the average
tral/North Luzon. The traffic congestion on the Pan- flood level is about 4 m above existing ground level. Based
Philippine Highway has reached critical levels and needs to on the inundation analysis conducted during the detailed
be resolved at the earliest possible time by constructing an design of CLLEX Phase-I, construction of 1.5 km-long via-
alternate route. The Central Luzon Link Expressway duct and 24 RCBCs for water level equalizer are proposed
(CLLEX) Project Phase-I will provide motorists a smooth and designed.
and faster travel from Metro Manila to Cabanatuan through
the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark- The second issue is soft ground treatment and liquefaction.
Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). CLLEX will also improve The project site is located in flat terrain (mainly rice field) so
access between the two (2) north large cities, Tarlac and Ca- that the majority of the section is designed as embankment.
banatuan, and will support industrialization of the northern In order to accelerate the consolidation settlement of the
part of Mega Manila. Central Luzon is expected to increase embankment, pre-loading with vertical drain is proposed and
its efficiency as an industrial hub with Clark Airport receiv- designed. Also, replacement of existing material with gravel
ing international flights. or sand is proposed and designed as part of the soft ground
treatment. There are also a few sections having a liquefiable
sand layer so that sand compaction piles are proposed and
designed for use under structures. This technical paper in-
troduces the designed countermeasures against possible soil
CLLEX Phase-I, L = 30 km
liquefaction.
1
were the mountain area in the neighborhood of the city of
Baguio and the vast expanse of alluvial lowlands in the Cen-
tral Plain which is a northwest trending depression, bounded
on the west by the Zambales Mountains and on the east by
the Cordillera Central Range and Sierra Madre Mountains.
Cordillera Central Range in northeast of the area consists of
metamorphic and igneous rocks while Zambales Mountains
consists of ultramafic rocks in the southwest. These moun-
tains composed of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of
Oligocene to Miocene, Neogene and undifferentiated igne-
ous rocks, and locally of pre-Jurassic base complex run at
right angles to the Philippine fault and parallel to each other,
interposing the longitudinal Cagayan Valley between them.
Cordillera Central is generally 1000 m to 3000 m high and
Central Sierra Madre is 1000 m to 2000 m high. The Central
Valley, about 60 km in width and 180 km in length between
Manila and Lingayen Gulf, is the most extensive lowland in
the Philippines and underlays thick Plio-Pleistocene sedi-
ments.
Fig. 2.2 shows CLLEX longitudinal geological map.
Fig. 2.1 Geology of Central Luzon (Galgana,)
3 SOIL LIQUEFACTION
The mechanism of soil liquefaction caused by earthquake
valleys respectively), the Cordillera Central became a posi-
ground motion and the soil conditions for occurrence of liq-
tive zone separating two depositional basins. The Cordillera
uefaction is explained.
Central was the dominantly active tectonic feature of north-
ern Luzon, while the Sierra Madre was a more stable or pas-
Liquefaction induced damages to structures during past
sive element.
earthquakes, such as subsidence and inclination of buildings
and bridges, uplift of underground structures, collapse of
The depositional environments in northern Luzon progressed
quaywalls and embankment are introduced. The methods of
from marine (Miocene) through marine-brackish (upper Mi-
estimation of liquefaction potential based on topographical
ocene-Pliocene) to fluviatile (upper Pliocene-Pleistocene).
and geographical conditions, in-situ soil test, laboratory test
Concurrent with this development of idiogeosynclines, fill-
and dynamic response analysis of surface ground are men-
ing of the basins, and over-all acceleration of uplift from
tioned.
Miocene to Pleistocene time, a volcanic cycle progressed
from mafic to silicic (quartz-bearing tuffs in the Ilagan and
3.1 Mechanism of Soil Liquefaction and Its Damage
Awidon Mesa formations of the Cagayan Valley) and a re-
cent reversion to mafic extrusives (Mt. Cagua and Camiguin 3.1.1 Mechanism of Soil Liquefaction
Island basalt cones). Fig. 3.1 shows conditions in Dagupan City just after the
1990 Luzon Island earthquake, which caused wide spread
Most of the anticlinal and synclinal trends visible at the sur- soil liquefaction. Fig. 3.2, was taken in the suburb of Da-
face, fault zones, and stratigraphic units have been named. gupan after the 1990 Luzon Islands earthquake, showing a
The regions most seriously affected by the Luzon earthquake sand volcano of several meters in diameter, with sand and
2
water spreading outward concentrically [1]. According to consists of sand, it is likely to undergo liquefaction. Howev-
local residents on the scene, the sand surged as high as the er when silt and clay are a major soil component, liquefac-
tops of telephone poles. Although this may have been exag- tion is not likely to occur. The permeability of gravels can
gerated because of the state of agitation of these witnesses, reduce pore pressure and prevent soil liquefaction. However,
the fact that an enormous volume of sand and water boiled during the 1995 Kobe earthquake, gravels of weathered
out of the ground is indisputable.
v = s h (3a)
Fig. 3.1 Liquefaction in Dagupan City just after the 1990
Here, s represents the saturated unit weight and h is the Luzon Islands earthquake (Ishihara, c.e.)
depth from the ground surface to the estimated point of soil
stress. To simplify the explanation, we assume the ground-
water level to be the ground surface, that is all of the ground
is a stete of complete saturation.
The total vertical stressv is a sum total of the effective ver-
tical stress v carried by the sand grains, and the pore water
pressure u.
v = v + u (3b)
By earthquake ground motions, the pore water pressure u Fig. 3.2 Sand Volcano by the 1990 Luzon Island earth-
increases: quake. The diameter of sand volcano was about 5
m and sand spread about 15 m in radial direction
u = ui + u (3c) (Hamada)
ui represents the initial pore water pressure and u the ex- BeforeLiquefaction AfterLiquefaction
cess pore water pressure. As Eq. (3a) shows, v does not
change even during liquefaction, because saturated unit Boilingofsand
weight s is constant. Thus, v decreases with the increase andwater
of pore water pressure. Ultimately, v will be reduced to
zero with complete liquefaction, and u will be equal to v
will be equal to v. At that stage, sand grains lose their con-
tacts and the ground behaves as a liquid mixed with sand
h Increaseof
and groundwater. This results, as explained later, in consid- SandGrains
porewater
erable damage to structures. The pore water pressure propor- PoreWater pressure
tionally increases with progress of the liquefaction, so
ground water moves upward to ground surface. When the
ground is relatively weak and there are openings between vi' ui
uui+u
building foundations and surrounding ground, the sand and v: TotalVerticalStress=v +u ui: InitialPoreWaterPressure
water spouts out. v': EffectiveVerticalStress (HydrostaticPressure)
u: PoreWaterPressure u: ExcessivePoreWaterPressure
Soil is classified according to grain size. The largest is grav- vi'
v': EffectiveVerticalStress
el, from 2 to 75 mm in diameter. Next is sand from 0.07 to 2 0
mm, followed by silt and clay, consisting of a so-called fine
fraction that is smaller than sand. Silt grains measure 0.005 Fig. 3.3 Mechanism of occurrence of soil liquefaction
0.075 mm, and clay less than 0.005 mm. When soil mostly (after Hamada)
3
granite liquefied. ing inner open spaces, of inground structures such as
sewage manholes and purification tanks, generally, be-
Conditions for the occurrence of soil liquefaction can be comes less than that of liquefied soil. This causes the
summarized as follows: uplift of such structures due to soil liquefaction.
(i) Sandy ground, i.e., soil containing a high percent-
age of sand. Fig.3.6 shows the uplift of: (a) & (b) a Gas station dur-
(ii) A high ground water level, i. e., saturated soil ing the 1990 Luzon Island earthquake
(iii) Loosely accumulated sandy ground
Fig. 3.5 shows a bridge pier collapsed by the 1990 Lu- (b) Gas tank of Gas Station Uplift by the 1990 Luzon Island
zon Island earthquake. earthquake
4
Fig. 3.7 Damage of road of lateral spreading by the 1990
Fig. 3.9 Grain size distribution criterion (Sand Layer of
Luzon Islands earthquake.3.2 Estimation of Liq-
CLLEX)
uefaction Potential (Ishihara, etc.)
FL > 1.0: There is little possibility of liquefaction in
3.1.3 Estimation of Potential the depth.
Method for the estimation of liquefaction potential can be FL 1.0: There is the possibility of liquefaction in
selected from the following three approaches, according to the depth.
the importance of structures, area of estimation, and soil
survey precision: Japan Road Association (1996) revised Specifications for
(i) Method by topographical conditions Highway Bridges issued in 1990 based on the generating
(ii) Method based on soil exploration( e.g., N-value and situation of liquefaction by the 1995 Southern Hyogo Pre-
grain size distribution) fecture Earthquake as follows:
(iii) Detailed method based on liquefaction vulnerability (i) The range for object soil of liquefaction assessment
tests in laboratory and dynamic response analysis of the was expanded from only alluvial sandy soil to diluvial
ground or gravelly soil.
(ii) The underestimate of the intensity in a portion with
The first method is used when estimation of liquefaction high N-value was resolved.
potential is needed over wide areas, for example, highway
like a CLLEX. The second method has been adopted in Liquefaction potential is assessed for following strata:
Specifications of Highway Bridges [3], Building Standards
[5], and Earthquake Resistant Design of Port Facilities [6]. Alluvial sandy soil (other layers are included if re-
The third method is used for the design of structures with a quired) in principle
high importance, such as high-rise buildings and long-span Saturated soil shallower than 20m, with groundwater
bridge. level shallower than 10m
Soil with Fc 35%
In the first method, liquefaction potential is categorized into Soil with Fc > 35% and Ip 15, here, Fc: granule part
the following groups, depending on geology and geography: content [%], Ip: plastic index
High potential area of liquefaction (A) : Current and Soil with mean grain diameter 10mm or less and 10% grain
old river channel, alluvial plain, lands reclaimed from diameter 1mm or less.
sea, river, swamp and valley, lowland between sand
dune. The factor of safety against liquefaction (FL) in every depth
Medium-potential area of liquefaction (B) : All ground of the ground is defined with the dynamic shear strength
not fitting the description of either (A) or (C). ratio R of the stratum and the seismic shear stress ratio L
Low-potential area of liquefaction (C): Plateau, hill, acting on the stratum as follows:
mountain, and alluvial fan.
F L R / L (3d)
Liquefaction assessment has been carried using two meth-
ods; Liquefaction Resistance Factor (FL) method. A lique- 4 COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST SOIL LIQ-
faction potential index is calculated from the liquefaction UEFACTION
resistance factor (FL value) for every depth derived from The followings are two means to reduce the damage caused
drilling data, geology sections and conditions of geomorpho- by soil liquefaction:
logical unit. The possibility of liquefaction based on lique-
faction resistance factor (FL value) is generally assessed as (i) Prevention of occurrence of soil liquefaction
follows: (ii) Reinforcement of foundation of structures for resisting
5
soil liquefaction tion with soil susceptible to liquefaction. This gravel fill will
intercept upward groundwater flows and divert it away from
In this section, the first method which attempts to change the the embankment. Pore pressure build up will be reduced
ground to non liquefiable category is introduced. As resulting in the mitigation of the effects of liquefaction.
explained above, condition of occurrence of soil liquefaction
are that the soil consists of loose sand and is saturated with
groundwater. In case of CLLEX, beside bridge foundation
prevention of liquefaction by idea of (i), and embankment
prevention of liquefaction by idea combination (i) and (ii).
The essential idea to prevent occurrence of liquefaction is
elimination of one of these conditions. There are three con-
ceivable approaches:
(i) Densification of loose sand, so soil resists liquefaction
(ii) Lowering the groundwater level, so soil becomes un-
saturated
(iii) Drainage of groundwater to reduce excessive pore wa-
ter pressure
In case of CLLEX embankment, Fig. 4.3 shows a two meter Fig. 4.2 Road embankment damage by lateral spreading
thick gravel fill is proposed to be provided in the road sec- during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Itoh, etc)
6
5 THE LIQUEFACTION INDUCED BY THE 1990 5.1 Fundamental Characteristics of the 1990 Luzon Island
LUZON ISLAND EARTHQUAKE AND ITS Earthquake
IMPLICATIONS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING 1990 Luzon earthquake occurred on July16, 1990 and had
Authors are prepared with the sole purpose of providing an surface magnitude Ms of 7.8 and moment magnitude Mw of
overall view of 1990 Luzon earthquake and its geotechnical 7.7. The hypocenter depth was estimated to be ranging be-
effects such as ground liquefaction. The information is tween 15 and 30 km depending upon the reporting institute.
hoped to provide fundamental data for the design and con- The focal mechanism solution indicated left lateral strike
struction of new civil engineering structures such as the slip faulting. The strike, dip and rake angle of the earthquake
CLLEX between Tarlac and Cabanatuan (Fig. 5.1) fault were 153, 89 and 344 respectively. The total rupture
time was estimated to be ranging between 30 to 35 seconds.
Nevertheless, there are some reports that the rupture dura-
tion was longer. The earthquake resulted in 130 km long
surface rupture. However, the aftershock activity and its
possible extension to the Philippine Sea implied that the
rupture length should be around 160 km. The maximum slip
was 600 cm horizontally and 200 cm vertically and its recur-
rence period is estimated to be about 310 years.
7
Table 5.1 The values of parameters in Eq. (5.1)
Bound Al Bl
Upper (UL) 36 160
Mean (ML) 36 200
Lower (LL) 36 200
Figure 5.2. Relationship between MMI and maximum Estimations from this equation together and other available
ground acceleration equations are compared with ground liquefaction data of the
1990 Luzon earthquake as well as those for the Great East
Japan Earthquake of 2010 in Fig. 5.4. Eq. (5.2) and the em-
5.2 Ground Liquefaction Caused by the 1990 Luzon Island pirical relations by Wakamatsu (2000) and Ambraseys
Earthquake (1988) provide the best bounds for the maximum limiting
The city of Dagupan, which is the chief port and commercial distance for ground liquefaction and Eq. (5.2) takes into ac-
and financial center of Northern Luzon; was devastated by count the faulting orientation. However, it should be noted
the extensive liquefaction which occurred in the sandy de- that both the relations proposed Ambraseys (1988) and Ku-
posits prevailing in the city area along the Pantal river. Phys- ribayashi-Tatsuoka fail to estimate ground liquefaction for
ical evidences of liquefaction such as sand boiling and lat- magnitudes less than 5.4. Fig. 5.5 shows the areal estimation
eral flow of the ground were seen everywhere in the city. of ground liquefaction and compares with observations. It
The ground liquefaction was even observed in Manila. should be noted that the area consisting of firm soil/rocky
ground could not liquefy as indicated in the respective figure.
Depending upon the ground conditions, some structures
were uplifted or settled and tilted. The lateral spreading was
also widespread and it is reported that some of the ground
disappeared into the sea (Hamada 1991). For instance, in
Dagupan City, the road on the Nable street in the district of
Pantal moved by 1 to 3 m towards the river as a consequence
of liquefaction developed in the sandy deposits. The right
bank of the Pantal river in the vicinity of the Magsaysay
bridge is underlain by sandy deposits and consequently de-
veloped extensive liquefaction accompanied by a lateral
spreading amounting to about 5 m.
8
fault. 7th National Conference on Earthquake Engineer-
ing, stanbul, Turkey, Paper No. 65 (on CD).
Aydan , Ulusay R, Kumsar H (2000) Liquefaction phe-
nomenon in the earthquakes of Turkey, including recent
Erzincan, Dinar and Adana-Ceyhan eartqhuakes. Pro-
ceedings of the 12th World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, Auckland, 12WCEE-2000, Paper No: 709,
7p (on CD).
Campbell, K.W. (1981): Near source attenuation of peak
horizontal acceleration. Bull. Seis. Soc. Am., 71(6),
2039-2070.
Fukushima Y, Tanaka T, Kataoka S (1988) A new attenua-
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Fig. 5.4 Comparison of Empirical relations with observa- Chen, Q. (2007): Analysis of crustal deformation in Lu-
tions zon, Philippines using geodetic observations and earth-
quake focal mechanisms. Tectonophysics, 432, 63-87.
Hamada, M. (1991 ): Report of Damage Reconnaissance for
6 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ON THE the 1990 Philippine , Luzon Earthquake., Association for
PLANNED EXPRESSWAY Development of Earthquake Prediction (in Japanese).
The area is very close to the Philippine faults system and the Ishihara, K., Acacio, A. and Towhata, I., (1993) Liquefac-
epicenter of the 1990 Luzon earthquake. There is no doubt tion Induced Ground Damage in Dagupan in the July 16,
that the same situations would be repeated if an earthquake 1990 LUZON EARTHQUAKE, Soils and Foundations,
with a similar magnitude occurs. However, the recurrence of Vol.33,No. 1, 133-154, JGS.
the similar magnitude earthquake in the same place requires Mechanics and Foundation EngineeringJoyner, W.B. and
some accumulation of crustal straining. It is estimated that Boore, D.M. (1981): Peak horizontal acceleration and
velocity from strong motion records from the 1979 Impe-
the recurrence period of the earthquake fault, which caused
rial Valley California Earthquake. Bull. Seis. Soc. Am.,
the 1990 Luzon earthquake, is about 300-320 years. There- 71(6), 2011-2038.
fore, the possibility of the rupture other faults such as the Kuribayashi E, Tatsuoka F.1975Brief review of soil
East Zambales fault, Tubao fault or Valley Fault System liquefaction during earthquakes in Japan, Soils and
should be considered in view of the service-life of the ex- Foundations, 15, 4, 81-92.
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Therefore, Authors adopted disaster prevention and mitiga- Structural Eng./Earthquake Eng. (JSCE), II:I; 33s-43s .
tion for the design in CLLEX and considered liquefaction Nakata T, R.S, Punongbayan, H,Tsutsumi, R. Rimando, J.
countermeasures. Daligdig, A, Daag and G. Besana (1991 ).A preliminary
report on ground rupture of the 16 July 1990 Luzon
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